Put to the Test
by jzou70
Summary: When Tris's parents send her to a boarding school in middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, she is forced to give up everything she has ever known to start over new. For Tobias, Dauntless is his chance to finally escape his father and his abusive childhood, a chance to discover himself. But they soon find out that things are not what they seem and there are secrets worth killing for.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: This story is set in modern times at an intensive athletic boarding school, Dauntless. The characters were pulled from Divergent (when, in my opinion, they were the most likable), before anyone died. This _is_ another one of those 'fluffy' high school stories, but, at the same time, I hope to make it more meaningful. The POV will change throughout the story, but I will always label each section, so never fear! I'm a stickler for grammar and spelling, but some things might have slipped by; I apologize in advance :)

Now, without further ado (cue the fanfare), I present...the prologue (yes, you read that correctly)!

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**Tobias's POV**

**_2 years_ ago...**

Two hundred seventy-three tiles line the floor of the room. Inside, there are no windows, two flickering lightbulbs, eighteen cobwebs of various sizes, and one thousand five hundred sixty four textbooks. I would know, I've counted. This is the cell in which I have spent the majority of my life. I'm told it is for my own good. For thirty brief minutes of freedom each day, I am allowed out into the rest of the house. The other time I spend studying in my room. I do not know what Father intends for me, nor do I care to ask. All that I understand is that ever since Mother mysteriously vanished, his mental state has been slowly deteriorating. In order to avoid his wrath, I do what I am told. I accept that my door is forever locked from the outside and that I must never venture outside of the 'safety' of our house. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

The burst of fresh air that blows into the room as I push aside my bookshelf to reveal the hole in the wall feels particularly crisp this morning. Perhaps it is due to the culmination of months of anticipation, or perhaps I am finally going insane, but as I lace up my sneakers and climb out for my daily run, I feel invigorated and anxious at the same time. The rhythm created by the sound of my sneakers hitting the beaten path brings a sense of familiarity and comfort. Today is the day my letter from Dauntless arrives—the letter that determines the outcome of the rest of my life; the letter that Father must never know about. I applied to the elite boarding school in secret months ago and am just now feeling a pang of guilt—Mother always said that to run away from one's fears was to be eternally selfish—but the feeling quickly fades as I make my way around the final bend in the trail and head towards our mailbox. I find that my hands are shaking. Inside lays a single envelope, bent at the edges from being handled too roughly and stamped with a faded image of Dauntless's insignia, a lone black flame, but, nevertheless, the entire package appears formidable in my eyes.

Slowly, uncertainly, I open the envelope and read the words on the paper:

Dear Mr. Eaton,

We are pleased to offer you a place at our globally ranked school in conjunction with a full athletic scholarship…

The rest of the words blur as a small smile spreads across my face. I may be selfish, but for the first time in my life, I am free.

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**A/N: **I realize that was probably a little intense and I most likely made Tobias seem like a psycho, but I promise you my writing style changes in the main storyline (with innocent Tris narrating). On another note, what did you guys think? I know that ideas that seem great in my head come out a lot differently in writing. So, questions? Comments? Recommendations?

Thanks for reading!


	2. A Change in Scenery

**A/N:** I'll try not to explain too much (the story should speak for itself, right?), but I'd like to point out that although this chapter is set in the present time, it mainly just sets up the plot for the rest of the story. The 'real' action begins in the next chapter *laughs evilly*

**Disclaimer****: **I think I forgot to include this in the last chapter...I don't own any of the characters, just my ideas and this computer that I'm typing on right now. Besides, if I were Veronica Roth, the Divergent movie would be coming out today, not in two months.

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**Tris's POV**

_**Present**_** day...**

I am woken by the sound of my parents' hushed whispers. It sounds like they are arguing, but that can't be, they never argue.

The alarm by my head tells me it is 4:07 AM. Just over twenty minutes before I head to morning practice. As enticing as my pillow looks, I know I have to get up. My family didn't give up everything and move halfway across the country just so I could be lazy. I wearily trudge across the hall to the bathroom that my brother and I share, ignoring the snores that escape from his bedroom—sleep is a luxury that I no longer have, and splash cold water onto my face in an attempt to awaken myself. A glance in the mirror confirms my suspicions: my pale complexion and the giant bags under my eyes make me look like an extra in a zombie horror film. It's on days like this that I wonder what life would have been like if I had been born with less _ordinary_ features. Sure, looks don't make an athlete, but it wouldn't hurt to be noticed every once in a while, would it? Sighing, I resign myself to a life of mediocrity and quickly brush my teeth before hopping into the shower.

When I finally make it downstairs after throwing on my standard workout clothes—running shorts and a tank top—I'm already late. The racquets in my bag clang against each other as I scramble around the kitchen grabbing everything I'll need for the day ahead. It isn't until I reach for my keys that I finally feel the awkward tension in the room and the two pairs of eyes boring into my back.

"Sit down, sweetie," My mother calls from the dining room table. Cautiously turning around, I notice that my parents are sitting stiffly with their I'm-doing-this-for-your-own-good faces on.

"What's going on?" I slowly sink down into the nearest chair, casting my eyes warily between the two.

"What's going on?" My father roars, "Your grades are dropping at an alarming rate and it has only been two weeks since school started, that's what's going on! This is simply unacceptable!"

"What you're father means to say," My mother, always the pacifier, quickly interjects, "is that when we moved here for your tennis career, we had an agreement that you would balance practice with schoolwork. We've given up a lot for this, for your happiness, and we only want what's best for you. If your grades keep dropping, you may not make it into a top college."

"Why does that matter?" I ask, ignoring the twinge of guilt that goes through me when I talk back to my parents, "I want to be a professional tennis player. I want to play against the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, not work in a stuffy office one day."

"Tennis is a hobby, not a feasible profession," My father counters, "You need to get into a good school so that you can get a stable job as a doctor or a lawyer. See? We're even giving you a choice between the two!" He looks extremely pleased with himself. "That's why we're sending you to a boarding school!"

"What?" My ears must have heard wrong. This is impossible.

"It's called Dauntless," My mother explains. "It is one of the most academically and athletically rigorous boarding schools in the nation. And the best part is, it's only a couple hours away from here, so we'll be able to see you every month during Visiting Day. You'll continue with your challenging academic classes while still being able to stay in top physical shape. However, because we feel that tennis is taking up too much of your time, that's the one sport you won't be playing. Might I suggest cross country?"

"What?" My brain must have shut down from the shock because all I can do is sit there, gaping at them dumbly.

"We've already notified Robert and he wishes you the best of luck." Yeah, right after he threw a racquet at their heads, probably. "Your flight leaves in three hours. You should probably go pack you things." My father beams at me, his mood having already improved drastically.

"What?" It seems like that's the only word I can come up with this morning.

"We know this is a lot to take in, sweetie, but remember, we only want what's best for you and we think this is a great opportunity. Someday, you'll thank us." My mother reaches across the table and attempts to stroke my hair. I recoil from her touch, knocking over my chair in the process.

It takes all of my self-control not to explode but, miraculously, I make it back to my room. There, I flop onto my bed, bury my head in my pillow, and scream.

_You've got three seconds to get it together, Beatrice, _I think to myself.

I scream in frustration…_Three_

I scream in desperation…_Two_

I scream just to make a point…_One_

Then, calmly, I get up and pack my bags for Dauntless.

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**A/N:** So, what did you guys think? I'm always accepting of any and all critiques or feedback. Don't be shy :)

Thanks for reading!


	3. The Dauntless Compound

**A/N**: Okay, I lied. Forgive me. I promised that we would get to the action in this chapter, but it ended up being waaaaay too long (almost 8 pages and I wasn't even done), so I had to split it in half. This chapter focuses on Tris; if you're looking for her encounter with Four, that happens in the next chapter—pinky promise touch thumbs :) Anyone know what song that's from?

Anyways, I don't own Divergent, blah, blah, blah...

_Update: Wait! Before you read further (I totally forgot the mention this earlier) I highly recommend that you listen to Spectrum by Zedd (feat. Matthew Koma). It is a beautiful song (the acoustic version is slower, more emotional, and, in my opinion, better). I was blasting it while I wrote this and I think it turned out pretty well :) _

_I hope... _

_Just wanted to put that out there..._

_So, yeah..._

_You have my permission to continue reading now._

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**Tris's POV**

Stepping out of the taxi and into the airport terminal, I am immediately overwhelmed by the excitement and commotion of the place—people rush back and forth in all directions, scurrying with their luggage bags, chattering on their phones, or doing one of a million other actions. In all my 16 years of life, I've never seen anything like it. I'm still standing there, wonderstruck and gaping like a fool, when the taxi driver interrupts my reverie.

"Miss? Where would you like me to place your luggage?" He looks as if he is trying, and failing, to hide a smile. "If you don't mind my asking, is this your first time at an airport?"

I take my measly duffel bag from his hands before responding, "I'm not much of the adventurous type. I don't usually venture far from the places I'm familiar with. In fact, apart from the time we moved, this is the only time I've ever been more than a couple miles away from my house. To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing here or where I'm going. You see, my parents decided to send me to a boarding school because they said my grades weren't good enough. Grades! I'm a tennis player for heaven's sake. Who cares about grades?" And now I'm ranting and rambling at the poor man in front of me. I seem to do that a lot when I'm upset.

"Well then, I hope you have a wonderful journey." He chuckles nervously, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his forehead while slowly backing away at the same time.

Sensing his discomfort, I quickly hand him a hundred dollar bill, enough to cover the ride and an exorbitant tip. At least I assume it's an outrageous tip; I wouldn't know, seeing as I've never had to tip anyone before in my life. Then I grab my bags, spin on my heels, and allow the sliding glass doors to absorb me into the chaos of the terminal.

* * *

"Gate 35C…gate 35C," I chant to myself, as if merely saying it aloud will guide me in the right direction. To an unsuspecting observer, I must look like a raving lunatic, but, at this point, I could care less. According to my phone, I had exactly 26 minutes to find the gate before my flight left without me and I was pretty certain I had been walking in circles for the past half hour.

"Oof!" I look up just to find myself staring at a broad white wall. Or at least it seemed like a wall-until it moved. "I-I-I'm so sorry," I stammer, glancing up to see exactly whom I had just run into. "I was trying to find my flight and I guess I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Obviously," The stranger replies with a grin. He has dusty brown hair, brown eyes, a tan complexion, and an easy laugh. He has a good foot on me in height, is extremely bulky, and has a tattoo peeking out from under the sleeve of his t-shirt. Despite his massive size and intimidating appearance, he has a calming air about him. "Here, let me see if I can help. What gate are you looking for?"

"35C"

"No way! I'm on that flight as well! You've been going in the wrong direction, follow me," He takes my bag from my hand and continues walking without looking back to see if I'm following. "So, what brings you to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina? I bet it's the food. No, wait, the people. It's got to be the people. Where else would you find someone like me? I'm Al, by the way. It's short for Alejandro, but no one calls me that." He turns his head and flashes me a blinding smile. Even though I've only known him for about two minutes, I find myself warming to his open, easy-going nature.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Beatrice. I'm heading to a boarding school in the area. Dauntless. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Heard of it!? Everyone knows about Dauntless! It's one of five highly prestigious schools in the area. What a coincidence, I also go to that school. I guess we'll be seeing more of each other. How in the world did you get in at this time?"

"Um...I'm not quite sure. I actually only found out about it today. What are the other four schools?"

"There's Abnegation, the school for politicians and philanthropists, an unusual combination, I know. Amity is for those dedicated to achieving world peace and studying medicine, the doctors and Nobel Peace Prize winners. Erudite is for the exceptionally brilliant, the future scientists and mathematicians of our generation. Candor is for the ones who study history, as it is applicable in today's world, the ones interested in the pursuit and preservation of the truth. Finally, as you probably already know, Dauntless is for the aspiring athletes."

Before I can respond, Al sets down my bag and turns to face me. "Here we are." He gestures towards a mostly empty sitting area. In one corner, a young mother frantically tries to keep her twin boys under control while, a few seats down, an extremely agitated man shouts into his cell phone. Even the flight attendants don't look happy to be here. The entire setting gives me a bad feeling. "Well, I'm going to head to the food court," Al glances down at his watch, "We have almost 20 minutes to kill. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"Thanks, but I'm good for now. I think I'll just listen to music and rest for a little bit. This day has been crazy." I sink down into a nearby chair, careful to avoid the one with a suspicious stain on it. I give Al a little wave and he's gone, whistling a cheerful tune and smiling at the passerby as he goes. I pull out my headphones and turn up my music, but my mind is racing and I can't seem to focus on a single word. Where are Mom and Dad right now? I wonder, do they miss me already? What is Caleb doing right now? Is he still asleep? The lucky bastard. Why didn't any of them come send me off? Do they not realize how scared I am? What am I going to do at Dauntless? What is the school going to be like? Will I make any friends?I've never been the sociable type. At home, I spent most of my time on the court, practicing, and kept my head down at school. The only person I could consider a 'friend' was Susan, and that was only because we played doubles together occasionally so she understood what I was going through.

My thoughts are once again interrupted by Al. He taps my shoulder with his one hand and uses his other to swing a bag filled to the brim with fast food in the direction of the gate. "Beatrice, it looks like we're boarding," he says though a mouthful.

Having successfully navigated to my seat, I rest my forehead against the cool glass window and fall into a much-needed slumber.

* * *

Three hours, a full bladder, and a cranky baby later, the wheels of the plane bump up against the asphalt of the runway. Looking out the window, I notice a vast expanse of trees as far as the eye could see and a terminal considerably smaller than the one I came from. As the excitement from being so high in the air, from being free, wears off, nervousness returns in its place. I quickly stretch, grab my bag from the overhead compartment, and climb out the plane. Walking out of the terminal, I notice an extremely disgruntled man holding a sign that reads 'Beatrice Prior". They sent someone to pick me up? I wonder, unsure if I should feel honored or suspicious. Up close, I notice that the man has numerous piercings on his ears, nose, and lips. His greasy black hair is slicked back with a disgusting amount of hair gel and his pale skin makes me, on a bad day, look tan in comparison. A dark, abstract tattoo winds up his arms and around his neck, giving him an extremely formidable appearance. He makes me uncomfortable and I take an immediate disliking to him.

He notices me staring and the scowl on his face becomes a smirk. "You're Beatrice Prior? Somehow I thought you'd be bigger. You look like you're twelve years old!" Under his breath, I hear him mutter, "They sent me to pick up a child? Who do they think I am?" Without waiting for my reply, he turns on his heels and starts walking towards a sleek, black BMW with tinted windows. If I my heart weren't in my throat, I would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. What was this, a James bond movie?

When I make it to the car, the man is waiting, tapping his fingers impatiently against the car's shiny paint job. I resist my urge to cringe and quickly reach for the passenger seat door.

"What do you think you're going?" He snaps, "Divergent sit in the back."

I jerk my hand back as if it has been burned. Before reaching for the car door, I hesitantly turn around to face the terminal once more. "How is Al going to get to school? I totally forgot about him!"

"Al will find his own way of getting there. He's not a helpless child," The man spits, "now, are you getting in or will I have to drag you?" His face proves that he is deathly serious about his threat. I have no choice but to scramble into the back seat, clutching my bag on my lap as if it is my life preserver.

I gulp. What have I gotten into?

The engine purrs to life, the man stomps on the gas, and we shoot out of the airport. Moments later, as we leave behind all resemblance of civilization and are swallowed by a never-ending tunnel of trees, my curiosity gets the better of me. Before my brain can catch up with my mouth, I ask, "What's a Divergent?"

The man snorts impatiently before answering, "A Divergent is someone like you, someone who has yet to be initiated into the school's environment. It means that you have yet to be dedicated to one of the five schools and your mind is unfocused and weak." He smirks at that, "Any other questions?"

I have a million thoughts racing through my head and thousands of questions threatening to spill out, but I get the feeling that he isn't the person to talk to. Instead, I ask, "What's your name?"

"I'm Eric. At Dauntless, I'm known as the head coach. Everything that happens on campus gets reported to me and every action must be approved be me. I hold all the power and you'd best do what I say. Capisce, little girlie?" The man—Eric—flashes me an icy grin in the rearview mirror.

I'm silent the rest of the car ride.

* * *

Minutes later, I'm jerked awake by the car's sudden stop. In front of us looms a massive compound: five interconnected, Gothic style buildings complete with soaring spires, threatening arches, and intricate detailing, all surrounded by a thick concrete wall topped with barbed wire and surveillance cameras. Every hundred yards or so, I see guards—on patrol, I presume—clutching intimidating rifles. I can't help but wonder what the over-the-top security is for. Before I can take in any more of the surroundings, we are cleared and Eric slowly eases the car into the compound. As we pass the guard station, I turn my head and watch as the wrought-iron gates shut behind us and the guards lock it from outside. How symbolic, I thought cynically, there goes the end of life as I knew it.

The car pulls to a stop in front of the first building to the right, a dirty, worn-down-looking compound with the insignia of a flame above its entrance. As I step out of the car with my bag in tow, I am hit by a wave of déjà vu and a sense of foreboding in my gut. Eric steps around the side of the car and takes my bag from my hand—since when did he become the gentleman? Before I can protest, the door to the compound opens, letting out a whoosh of air as if it has been holding its breath, and a woman with sleek black hair, warm brown eyes, and sun-kissed skin steps into the light. She too has numerous piercings and tattoos scattered across her body. Her distraction gives Eric enough time to disappear with my bag, taking the only shred of familiarity and comfort I had left with it.

"Beatrice! I'm glad you've finally arrived. Welcome to Dauntless!"

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**A/N: **What did you think? I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible (but a little feedback in the form of a review wouldn't hurt *cough* *cough* Just kidding, I write because I like to write, no bribery needed).

Thanks for reading!


	4. Threats

**A/N: **Just a quick warning, there are a couple swear words in this chapter. I'm sorry if you don't like them, but I felt that they better represented the character as we get a little insight into Eric's mind, need I continue explaining? Aside from that (and the fact that I don't own Divergent), enjoy!

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**Tris's POV**

"I'm Tori. I work here in the Dauntless compound as the only arts teacher, but I also help with student initiation. Now, if you'll just follow me down this hall," I notice that she called me a student, not a Divergent, which reassures me the tiniest bit—the way Eric spat out the word was not at all comforting.

"There are a few tests that I need to run on you to see how your body and brain function." Tori continues, "but don't worry, they should not change the outcome of your placement in Dauntless, they are merely for informational purposes only." I am not listening to what she's saying. To fight the rising panic, I focus on the sharp, rhythmic clicking of her heels against the shiny marble floor and the black and white tattoo of a hawk on the back of her neck.

We stop as a stainless steel door—built into the wall and completely unnoticeable when closed—slides to the side, revealing a sterile white room. In the center of the room sits a massive metal reclining chair. Hanging from the ceiling above the chair is a strange-looking helmet with gear, wires, and lights sticking out of it. There is another door directly opposite me and there are what I assume to be one-way mirrors lining the other two walls. It is so completely absurd I want to laugh.

Instead, I catch sight of my reflection—all pale skin, sharp edges, and wide, terrified eyes—and my throat seizes up.

"Please take a seat, Beatrice. Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to prepare the serum, I'll be right back." Tori scurries across the room and exits out the opposite door. I crane my neck but the door closes before I can see anything on the other side of it. Reluctantly, I settle down into the chair. When Tori returns, she is holding a small orange syringe filled to the brim with a dark, murky liquid. If she wants me to get 'comfortable', the newest addition to the room certainly won't improve the situation.

As she approaches me, the needle glimmers under the light in the room and I feel myself shrink into the chair.

"Don't worry, this doesn't hurt and it'll be over before you know it." Then, without warning, she plunges the crook of my right arm and everything fades to black.

* * *

**Eric's POV**

Never in my life have I seen a group of more pathetic creatures. It has been two weeks of nonstop training and, still, I am presented with the sad sight in front of me. They are too soft, too weak minded. I don't know what sort of self-proclaimed _athletes_ the board decided to admit this year, but standards are clearly going down the drain. Sure, the usual cast of legacies looks slightly promising and a couple of the transfers seem like they have what it takes, but the rest of the group is completely, utterly useless. Don't even get me started on the new girl—Prior, was it? I don't care if she's a legacy, or that her mother, Natalie Prior, is one of Dauntless's greatest success stories and graduated top of her class, the girl is all skin and bones—hopeless, I tell you, hopeless. I should have ditched her at the airport when I had the chance earlier.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I roar at the nearest initiate, "Did I say you could sit down? Get up, you lazy piece of shit and run another lap."

"B-b-but—we just ran ten miles," The initiate, whose name I neither knew nor cared to learn, sputters.

"You're absolutely right. Make that another three laps. And if I catch you," I look around at the group of wide-eyed initiates staring back at me, "or any of you taking the easy, lazy way out or doing what you're not supposed to be doing, _everyone_ will run another ten laps. Am I clear?" My face is beet red and I am frothing at the lips, but I don't care. Half these wimps will have dropped out by the end of the month and it's my personal belief that it is always better to root out the weak sooner rather than later.

"Eric, what are you doing?"

I spin around and automatically narrow my eyes as I catch sight of Four. Seeing him brings back bad memories of my own initiate days, memories that I didn't care to relive. "Training." I reply curtly. Hopefully he'll get the hint and go away.

"Let me be more specific. What are you doing with my initiates?"

"You forget, Four, that I am the one with the authority in this situation. Therefore, I can do whatever I damn well please. If I want to mess around with your pathetic initiates, then so be it."

"And you forget, Eric, that I kicked your ass the first time you got in my way, not to mention every time after that, and I'll gladly do it again." He takes another step towards me so that we are face to face. "So, I will ask you again. What are you doing with my initiates?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that the all the initiates have stopped what they were doing and are watching our little showdown with intense fascination. I cannot back down. "Please," I scoff, "that was pure luck. But since I'm feeling generous today, we can train the initiates together."

"I don't need your generosity, nor is it something you have to give." Four growls, but, surprisingly, backs down. "Fine, let's have a little contest, shall we? We'll split the initiates into two teams, train for the next four months, then, right before winter break, we'll see who is actually the better athlete."

"Why should I allow anyone from this sorry group to represent me as an athlete?" Four's idea is ridiculous. My pride and reputation will not be put at stake for a childish competition.

"Are you scared that you'll lose?" Four taunts me. It seems he's in an unusual mood today; the aloof and composed Four is taunting me. Perhaps he is itching for a fight.

"Absolutely not, you're on." I spit out before I realize what I've just agreed to.

"Excellent, we can decide on the teams tomorrow."

He looks triumphant. I want to punch that smirk right off his arrogant face, preferably along with a couple teeth. Instead, I turn to the gaping idiots surrounding us, "that's ten laps for each of you. Now." Then I spin on my heels and walk away.

* * *

**Tris's POV**

When I come to, white lights blind me. I reach a hand up to shield my eyes and find that I am covered in wires.

Tori steps back into the room—I don't recall her leaving—and I notice that she is holding a stack of papers. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

My throat feels parched, as if I have been screaming for hours. Tori's eyes look at me pityingly.

"While you were unconscious, I was monitoring your mind and body's reaction to the serum. I've got your results right here and everything looks normal. I just have a couple questions to ask you, standard procedure and all."

"First off, why do you wish to go to this school? What do you think Dauntless can offer you and what do you think you'll be able to gain from the experience?"

"Does it matter? I'm here now, aren't I? And clearly I have no where else to go." Suddenly, I'm furious. Furious at my parents for sending me here, furious at Robert for not standing up on my behalf, furious at Caleb for being exempt from this unfair punishment, and just plain furious in general.

"Please just answer the question." Tori's voice is quiet, as if she senses my fury.

"Okay. Fine," I snap. I know it isn't fair to get mad at Tori, but I can't help myself, "I don't want to come to this school. I'm here because my parents sent me here. They said that I could get a good, well-rounded education here. There's nothing here for me. I can't even play tennis, the only thing I actually enjoy in life. So, to answer your question, I don't think I have anything to gain from this experience."

Tori gives me a stern look before rushing out of the room. I don't know where she went, but, now that she's gone, I feel ashamed. Here I am in this new, unfamiliar environment and the first thing I do is push away someone who was genuinely trying to help me. Before I can dwell on the thought any further, Tori rushes back into the room looking extremely flustered.

I open my mouth to say something—apologize, perhaps—but she holds up a hand to stop me.

"No, just listen to me. We don't have much time. I hacked into the security footage, deleted everything from the past few minutes and fed them a blank loop to throw them off, but eventually someone is going to realize that something's not right and they are going to come investigate. Therefore, I highly suggest you listen to me. The serum that I injected into you was supposed to erase parts of your memory and alter it to fit Dauntless's standards. Everyone has a slight Divergent tendency in them, but yours is especially strong. The serum attacks the brain and destroys those Divergent qualities completely so that initiates are left with a one-track mind. Evidently, it did not work on you. This means that they cannot control you. It also means that they will try to get rid of you. I suggest you do your best to stay under the radar. Do not draw attention to yourself or try to stand out in any way. If you are questioned, deny everything and play dumb if you have to. Your Divergence makes you dangerous."

There is that word again, Divergent.

"Why should I trust you? How do I know that you won't betray me? How do I know that you are telling the truth? And who is this 'they' that you refer to?" My voice comes out surprisingly strong; I sound braver than I actually feel.

"My brother was Divergent like you. He made the mistake of questioning one of the board's decisions and was never seen again. This school doesn't like bad press getting out. If you pose the slightest nuisance, they—the board—will kill you. You don't have to listen to what I say, but if you want to see your family again, I suggest that you do."

I can only nod in response. I shiver, but I am not cold. My mind is numb from shock.

"Here's what is going to happen. I'm going to send in my report saying that everything went according to plan. Then, I'm going to walk you to your temporary dorm room and we are going to pretend that you had a bad reaction to the serum. Food will be delivered to your room; do not go out unless it's an absolute emergency. Tomorrow morning, one of your classmates will show you around campus and you are going to pretend like everything is fine, because it is. Am I clear?" She leads me out of the room and back the way we came. After several turns down nearly identical hallways, we stop in front of a door labeled T1389.

"This is your room. Initiates usually stay on the other side of the compound, where the classrooms and gyms are, but we'll make an exception for today. Get a good night's rest, you'll need it." And on that comforting note, she leaves me, alone and terrified, in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

**A/N: **One other quick thing, sorry for any grammatical/spelling errors. I'm usually really picky about those things (i.e. I proofread ten times before I'm satisfied), but I really wanted to get this chapter out for you guys, so I rushed. I won't be able to update remotely this often in the coming weeks (I've got summer program applications to complete and AP tests and SAT subject tests to cram for). That's not to say that I won't try! The chapters will probably just be a lot shorter.

On another note, can anyone guess who is going to show up at her door tomorrow? :)

Anyways, thanks for reading!


	5. Harmless Questions

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry it took so long, I'm kind of stuck as to where I want this story to go. I may have to go back and change a couple previous scenes so that everything works out. If that happens, I will let you guys know.

On another note, I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hand these next few days since I'm "snowed in" (an inch of snow is all it takes for the city to shut down where I'm from). If you guys have any suggestions I'd be happy to take them into consideration as I try to sort out the plot.

Without further adieu (is it ado or adieu? I think I spelled it ado in a previous chapter, but adieu seems fancier...)

* * *

**Tris's POV**

I wake up to complete and utter darkness. For a moment, I am disoriented. I don't know where I am, why I'm in this strange bed, or even how I got into this bed in the first place. Then, all of yesterday's events come rushing back, and, suddenly, I crave the ignorance.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. _An impatient knock sounds against the door. That must have been what woke me up. I force myself up and rub the sleep out of my eyes. Before I even reach for the light switch—not that I know where it is—the lights turn on. Motion sensors? What kind of place is this? I wonder to myself.

I climb out of bed and run a hand through my unruly hair. 16 years should have taught me that it will never be tamed, but a girl can always hope. Looking down, I notice that I am in the same blue jeans and simple gray t-shirt as yesterday—albeit slightly more wrinkled and disheveled. I must have fallen asleep in them.

When I finally open the door, it swings open to reveal a girl with bronze skin, warm brown eyes, cropped black hair, and a scowl on her face. I'm relieved to find that she doesn't have any _visible_ tattoos on her body. "Sure took you long enough, Sleeping Beauty."

She shoves a piece of paper in my hand. "This is your schedule for the semester. I'm Christina—don't call me Chris—and I will be showing you around today." Then she spins on her heels and starts walking purposefully down the hallway. What is with the people at this school? What crawled up their asses?

"Wait!" I call out, "What about my clothes? Can I at least change first?" Speaking of which, where did my bag go?

As if she read my mind, Christina calls over her shoulder, "No time. Besides, Eric already threw all of your stuff away. You'll be receiving standard issued Dauntless uniforms later today. Now come on." I scampered after her, but my mind was caught on what she had just told me. Eric threw my bag away? Not that I was particularly attached to any of the items in it, but, all the same, it was the last thing tying me to my home and family and, even after just a day, I was feeling nostalgic.

Christina led me down one winding hall after another, explaining the significance of each room to me as we went. I tried to keep up, but to be honest my heart wasn't really into it. Suddenly, we came to a stop in front of a set of giant, sliding doors. Again, I couldn't help noting that the technology in the school was ridiculously over the top.

"The room that I'm about to show you is called the Pit. It is where, as initiates, we will spend the majority of our time. As you may have noticed on your schedule, Dauntless students spend half the day in the classroom and the other half of the day training. In the beginning, everyone sticks together and goes through the same routines. After initiation, we can choose the sport or area that we want to specialize in." Christina leads me forward and the doors slid open to reveal the largest room I have ever seen.

I don't remember climbing up any stairs, but suddenly, as I stare over the balcony that lines the walls of the circular room, I find myself looking down at a maze of narrow catwalks and swinging ropes. At the bottom, seven stories down, I watch as tiny figures throw themselves at each other in intense fights, train on various exercise machines, or hone their precision with targets set up around the room. The name now seems exceedingly fitting.

Christina has been watching my reaction this entire time, so as I turn to meet her eyes, I mold my face into the image of impassiveness.

I think the edges of her lips just twitched. Is she laughing at me?

"It's really something, isn't it?" She asks quietly, turning to lean her body against the balcony and face the room. She seems lost in thought and I am hesitant to interrupt her. This, surprisingly, has been the most emotional and open that she's been all day. "I remember when I first saw it. I'm pretty sure everyone could hear my jaw hitting the ground. Two weeks later, it still amazes me."

"You've only been here two weeks?"

"Yeah, I transferred here." She gives me a small smile but doesn't elaborate. "Come on, let me show you the rest of the compound." And, just like that, the moment is gone.

* * *

**Four's POV**

I'm not sure what I was thinking yesterday, challenging Eric like that. He's right. I have no authority in this place. Honestly, some days I wonder what I'm doing here. With the grades that I maintained as a student, I could have gone anywhere, done anything, I wanted. But somehow, that blackened lump I call my heart felt a strange attachment to this school and I stayed behind. I tell myself it's for the students, but I've only been doing this for two weeks and I'm already bored. My job is utterly pointless. I wonder if that is why I stood up to Eric; I needed something to take my mind off the boredom. Perhaps I'm going stir crazy. Either way, I am not going to lose to that bastard.

"Four! There you are! I was just looking for you!" Speak of the devil.

"Eric!" I plaster a fake grin on my face. I think it came out as more of a grimace.

"We need to go over the rules for this wager you spoke of." He sees the look on my face. "Unless you're having second thoughts. Scared that I'll beat you?"

"In your dreams."

"Great. Then let's get started."

Three hours later, we had the basics hammered out. Seeing as I oversaw initiation, we thought it best to incorporate the competition into the daily training sessions. That was as far as our ideas coincided. We finally settled on a simple plan. The competition would be divided into individual events that ranged from hand-to-hand combat to archery to cross country. In each round, one contender would be eliminated, based on specific guidelines, until only one student remained standing. Both the coach and the initiate would win the much-coveted final prize: bragging rights. The teams would be drawn out of a hat and could train however they saw fit during the initiation process.

"What about special assignments?" I suddenly ask. During my days as an initiate—and later as a student—I'd been sent on numerous "assignments" handpicked by the board itself. The assignments usually occurred off-campus, in the dead of the night, and lasted a couple days. I found it suspicious that we were sworn to complete secrecy and many of our tasks bordered on illegal, but I'd learned long ago that it was best not to ask questions. Amar, the first and only friend I'd had at this place, found out the hard way. He questioned our orders on one particularly sketchy assignment and was never seen again. It bothered me that none of the other students had any qualms against what they were doing, but, again, it wasn't my place to say or do anything about it.

"They won't get in the way." The glint in his eye told me the exact opposite. He was planning something and it didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies.

"Whatever you say," I mutter.

"Good boy," He stands up and pats my head as if I'm a dog. It's merely a play of power, so I do my best to swallow the growl building up in my throat.

I don't think I succeeded. As Eric walks away, I catch him chuckling under his breath.

* * *

**Tris's POV**

When Christina finally concludes the tour of the compound, I am exhausted—both mentally and physical. The sheer size of the place is overwhelming and my mind cannot keep up with all the details. As we approach the student dormitories, I glance down at my schedule for the first time. I'm surprised to find relatively standard classes. By the look of the school, I would have thought Knife Throwing 101 would be part of the required curriculum. Instead, I see Precalculus, Chemistry, English, and other normal classes. However, I'm not a normal student. "Um, Christina?" I hesitantly call out, "Where can I go to change my schedule?"

"Why would you need to change your schedule?" She doesn't even turn to face me.

"Because I've already taken all of these classes?" My response comes out as more of a question. I clear my throat and try again. "My parents stressed academics and athletics. As a junior at my old school, I was taking AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Latin, AP European History..." I continue rattling off the _long_ list of classes until I realize Christina isn't even listening to me.

"All Dauntless initiates take the same classes at the same time. There are no schedule changes."

"Why should I have to repeat the same class?"

"Why do you insist on being different? Why do you ask so many questions?" She countered.

I open my mouth to respond, then quickly stop myself. Tori's words ring in my ears. I don't know what I'm getting myself into; I should try not to stick out. "I'm sorry. You're right." Even though she isn't.

Christina grunts in acknowledgement, but she doesn't sound satisfied. I watch as she picks up her pace so that she is almost running down the halls. She jogs ahead, turns around a corner, and disappears.

I am out of breath when I catch up to her. She stands, tapping her foot impatiently, by a nondescript grey door with a plaque that reads S153. I assume it's the room number.

"You sure took your time." Her eyes are hard and reprimanding. She slides a key card out of her pocket and opens the door. The inside of the room, I find, is bland. There are four bunk beds lined up in pairs against the left wall and a small, circular window on the right. Before I have any more time to take in my surroundings, Christina roughly grabs my arm and pulls me towards another door on my right.

"I don't need to use the restroom," I complain once I realize what this second room is.

"Just go."

"Not until you tell me why."

"What did I say about asking too many questions?"

I return the hard look she gives me. I hate being stubborn, but sometimes it comes in handy.

"Fine." She reaches a hand out and shoves me in the shoulder—hard. I stumble backwards into the bathroom and as I'm regaining my balance, she steps in after me, closing the door behind her. We are shut in complete darkness. "Oh thank goodness. I swear to god, you are going to get both of us killed." She lets out a breath and, even though I can't see her, I can tell that her demeanor has changed. "You want answers? Fine. Let me begin by pointing out that every single room in this god-forsaken building has cameras tracking our moves and recording what we say. Every room, that is, except the bathrooms. That's why we're in this lovely position."

"Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh' is right. Tori told me you were inquisitive, but seriously, you need to learn some self-control or the board will start to get suspicious. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they are already keeping tabs on you since you started so late in the year."

"How do you know Tori? Why are they recording us?"

"I can't tell you that. It isn't safe for you to know. Please just know that things here are not what they seem. Something big is happening and you need to stay out of the way. Don't draw attention to yourself or question what any of the teachers tell you. The board expects a bunch of stupid minions and that's exactly what they're going to get."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You don't have to. In fact, you shouldn't trust anyone. But I'm going to tell you a story and you can decide what you want to do from there."

"What is this? Kindergarten?"

"I'm serious. A couple weeks ago, there was an initiate here who went by the name of Al."

"I ran into him at the airport!"

"Did you now? So they didn't kill him. Interesting. Anyways, he was a big ball of happiness and energy—and that says a lot coming from me—but because he was restless, he had a hard time following orders. He didn't even challenge authority, like you're so talented at doing; he merely got distracted. He messed up. Before anyone knew what was happening, the board swooped in and got rid of him. My personal theory was that they killed him, but since you saw him, I'm guessing they went easy on him. They probably have him doing their dirty work. Bribing, evidence disposal, the usual."

"What? Isn't this a high school? Or did I get on the wrong plane?"

"Very funny. I'm glad you can joke about such serious matters. My point is if you cross the board, you will never see your family or anyone else, for that matter, again. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you will disappear off the surface of the earth. The board likes to tie off all loose ends."

"What kind of messed up place is this?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"Oh."

I really wish I could see her expression through the darkness. "You said you transferred here, but you aren't from any of the schools, are you?"

"No. I work for the government."

"Come again?"

"I'm not saying it again. In fact, I shouldn't have said it in the first place."

I hear Christina shuffle and suddenly the door clicks open. As my eyes adjust to the intrusion of light, she gets up and walks out. I guess the conversation is over.

"I'm glad we had that heart to heart." I sarcastically tell her receding back.

I swear she smiled at that. Perhaps we might just get along.

"The top bunk on the right is yours. I'm going to get your uniform. Don't go anywhere." She calls from the other room.

I nod dumbly.

It isn't until the door slams shut that I realize she can't see me.

* * *

**A/N:** So, nothing too dramatic, but Four's back (finally)!

I just wanted to add that I realized I made a mistake in an earlier chapter. Al's full name is Albert. Hehe. My bad.

Does anyone want to Beta for me? PM me! (am I supposed to post things like this in an author's note? Oh well...)

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

As always, thanks for reading!

Sorry if I seem like I'm jumping around everywhere. I've had too much hot chocolate :)


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